


Surprises

by Idris02



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-14
Updated: 2014-11-27
Packaged: 2018-01-12 08:37:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 18,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1184172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idris02/pseuds/Idris02
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of one shot drabbles of Hermione and Ron's everyday life, filled with love and cuteness :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Hurry up, we’re going to be late!” Hermione yelled from the living room as Ron pulled his jeans up and looped his belt through them.

“Why are we rushing, it takes us seconds to arrive.” Ron yelled back as he picked up his wand and thought Accio-shoes. Catching them as he rushed out of the bedroom he pulled them onto his feet as he stumbled down the staircase, his tie hanging over his shoulder. Tucking his shirt into his jeans and with a single thought his tie neatly wrapping itself gently around his neck he emerged into the living room. His eyes searched the room for only a second before noticing Hermione standing by the fire staring at the mantelpiece.

“You look amazing.” Ron said as a smile forged on his lips.

“Always a tone of surprise.” Hermione replied turning to face him, a matching smile on her lips. She opened her mouth to say something else but behind her the clock chimed. “Now we’re late.”

“Honestly Hermione I don’t think anyone will notice.” Ron replied wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her in for a kiss. She responded immediately, snaking her hands up his arms pulling him closer.

As the last chime sounded she pulled back and smiled, “Let’s go.” Hermione removed her hands from Ron’s arms but allowed her fingers to intertwine with his. “Ready?”

Crack!

Hermione and Ron were no longer standing on the purple rug in the middle of their living room, with the ticking clock and crackling fire behind them but were now standing in front of a house that much resembled a house in a fairytale, leaning but not falling. A house that defied gravity, a house called the Burrow.  The wind was the only sound they heard as it whistled through the trees as they walked slowly towards the house.

“See no-ones here yet, we’re not late.” Ron said, placing his arm on Hermione’s shoulder and pulling her close to him. Hermione said nothing in reply just smiled inwardly to herself. They had only been living together for a few months now, but she couldn’t imagine not doing so. After so many years, so many obstacles, it seemed that all was finally perfect. Ron was happily working with George, Harry was hard at work in the Ministry and Hermione had passed her newts with flying colours.

Discretely waving her wand she thought loud and clear, forcing the door open and lighting the lights in the kitchen and living room. The door being too small for two at once, Ron fell back and Hermione walked in ahead. As she walked past through the kitchen door into the living room, she tapped her wand on the door without Ron noticing.

“I think we mig..” Ron started as he followed her into the empty room but he was stopped midsentence by the sudden appearance of George, then Harry, then Ginny, then Percy, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Molly, Arthur, Luna, Neville and dozens more.

“SURPRISE!” Each of them yelled as they jumped out from behind chairs, bookcases and tables, and as they turned off their dis-illusionment charms revealing themselves.

Hermione found herself pushed to the side as person after person made their way to Ron, hugging him, shaking his hand, kissing him on the cheek and wishing him birthday wishes and all the rest.

“How’d you get him dressed up?” Ginny said as she sidled up next to Hermione, pushing her through the door and into the kitchen to get away from all the noise.

“Told him my parents were coming.” Hermione said as she pulled Ginny into a hug as they reached the deserted kitchen.

“Are they?” Ginny asked as she picked up her wand and began sending plates of food out into the living room.

“Yeah.” Hermione said looking down at her watch, “They should be here in two minutes, I really should go wait outside for them.” Hermione stepped away from the table and turned to head to the door.

“Don’t worry about that, I’ll do it.” Ginny hurriedly said. Pushing the door open, she looked around the room before saying, “Anyway Ron’s looking for you.”

A smile fluttered on Hermione’s face as she bit back the question ‘really’. She knew that there was no point asking, of course he would be and that, something so simple, made her so happy. Ginny walked past her and out of the back door as Hermione pushed open the door that Ginny had just peaked through and walked through.

“There you are.” Ron said as he spotted Hermione wandering into the living room. He wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her close to him as he said, “Thank you.”

“It wasn’t all…” Hermione started but Ron hushed her with a kiss.

“One of the best birthdays ever.” Ron said as their lips separated momentarily.

“Wait till you see what I got you.” Hermione whispered just before their lips meet again.


	2. The Parents

Two weeks had gone by, each day spent with her parents, each night spent with Ron. They had moved back to England, settled into a new home and most of their boxes had arrived, their house looking extremely similar to what it had done as Hermione was growing up. Despite it being a different house, in a neighbour that was considerably closer to the Burrow.

They had coincidentally found a really nice home a short drive away, and her parents had already set up a new dental practice. The distance was irrelevant to Hermione but she wanted her parents to be able to have easy access to the Weasley’s, so they see each other frequently, and get along just as she wanted. 

Hermione still hadn’t broached the subject of dating Ron with her parents, she had talked about him for years, so she doubted that the two of them dating would come as a surprise. But she had a lot of explaining to do after she fixed their memories and got past the tears, the apologies and the I love you’s. Two weeks was enough time, Hermione decided the moment she woke up, that it was the day to tell them.

“Mum?” Hermione said, looking up from her bowl of cereal and fiddling nervously with her ponytail.

“Yes dear.” Mrs Grangersaid, her attention on the toast in front of her.

“I uh, I’m dating someone.” Hermione said, watching her father’s face carefully.

“Do you love him?” Mrs Grangersaid, turning to face Hermione, leaning against the bench, smiling down at her.

“Uh, yes. Yes I do.” Hermione said, a shy smile spreading across her lips, it wasn’t the first time she had acknowledged it but it felt even better telling her parents.

“Does he love you?” Mr Grangersaid, smiling at his daughter.

“Yes. We haven’t said it to each other yet though.” Hermione said her smile grew with each word.

“You should invite Ron round for dinner tonight.” Mr Grangersaid folding the newspaper as he picked the pen off the table and began to do the crossword.

“I’m sure he won’t mind coming a few hours earlier than usual.” Mrs Granger said, exchanging a look with her husband, as Hermione looked completely shocked. “We may not be witches or wizards but we were your age once.”

“Not many people are that excited about going to bed early.” Mr Grangeradded not looking up from his newspaper. Hermione looked from her mum and dad desperately, blushing furiously but smiling slightly at the same time.

“You knew?” Hermione managed to say a few moments later. She thought she had been so discrete about it, the last two weeks of ‘sneaking around’ evidently had not worked as well as she had presumed.

“The amount of washing alone was enough to tip us off.” Mrs Granger said smiling radiantly at her daughter as she took a step towards her.

“And you’re fine with it?” Hermione said slowing rising out of her chair at the table.

“If you’re happy, we’re happy. And you obviously are.” Mr Grangersaid looking up from his crossword and smiling at his daughter.

“Of course we’re fine with it. We’ve known for years this was coming and we never worried he’s lovely, as is his family.” Mrs Granger said as Hermione wrapped her arms around her mother and pulled her into a hug.

“I am happy.” Hermione murmured into her back. Letting go of her mother she stepped towards her dad and kissed his forehead. “Well I’ll go invite him then.” She added as she stepped towards the door, still with a look of slight surprise on her face.

Turning to look at them one more time, she stepping into the hallway, closed her eyes and envisioned the Burrow.

Crack!


	3. In the Tub

Engrossed in an article in Transfiguration Today it took Ron a few moments to notice the yelling travelling down the staircase into the lounge where he sat, comfortably in an armchair in front of the fire, with the wind howling outside and snow cascading past the window. 

“RON!” A yell came from upstairs again, over the sound of the snow beating against the window and the wind rushing through the trees. Looking up from up, it took another moment of hesitation before he dropped Transfiguration Today and sprung to his feet.

He had taken two steps towards the door when another yell came, “RON!”

“Bloody hell.” He muttered to himself, a worried expression on his face as he pulled out his wand.

Crack!

“Hermione?” Ron said, knocking on the bathroom door, that lay ajar in front of him. He thought it wouldn’t be the best idea to apparate blindly into the bathroom.

“Ron!” Hermione said again, this time much more quietly but still in the same tone. Ron pushed open the door and stepped inside, scanning the room quickly for anything out of the ordinary.

“Hermione!” He breathed as he laid eyes on her and rushed over to the bath, kneeling down beside her. Hermione sat upright in the bath, surrounded by bubbles with a terrified look on her face. She had both her hands resting on her stomach, which was protruding out in front of her.

Without speaking, Hermione reached out her left hand and grabbed Ron’s hand placing it on her stomach. “It’ll happen soon.” Hermione said, looking down at their hands looking fraught. With his free hand, Ron entwined his fingers with hers and squeezed tightly. They sat in silence only momentarily before it happened.

Hermione looked up quickly, frowning slightly. “See.”

Instant relief washed over Ron, and his worried expression changed to a smile, which only cause Hermione to frown further. She wasn’t use to not knowing. “What?”

Leaning forward Ron kissed Hermione on the forehead and then squeezed her hand again. “It’s nothing to worry about honey. The baby’s kicking, that’s all.”

“Really?” Hermione said, a smile washing over her face. “I read about that..”

“Of course you did.” Ron said cutting her off.

“It should happen again soon!” Hermione said, smiling down at her stomach and then up at Ron again.

“He’ll be a great quidditch player, or she.” Ron added hurriedly.

“I can’t believe I didn’t recognise it!” Hermione exclaimed, which cause Ron’s smile to widen further.

“It doesn’t hurt does it?” Ron said, worry returning to his face again.

Hermione looked up and smiled, “No.” She pulled him forward and kissed him full on the mouth. They broke apart as the baby kicked again, both Ron and Hermione’s hand resting on her stomach.

Looking down in the soapy, bubbly water Ron lifted his wand and raised the book out of the bath, dried it off and let it hover in front of Hermione at eye level. Flicking his wand again, a sound came from downstairs and seconds later a pillow, his cup of tea and Transfiguration Today zoomed into the room. Placing the pillow underneath him, he leant against the wall, flicked to the right page and let it hover in front of him. Placing his wand beside him on the ground, he kept one hand intertwined with Hermione’s resting on her stomach and the other holding a cup of tea.

“Will it wake me up?” Hermione said after a few minutes of silence. The only sound was the swish of the pages as the turned, snow beating against the window and the wind brushing against the house.

“Ask Ginny, or Fleur, or Mum, yours or mine.” Ron said raising his tea to his lips.

“Thanks.” Hermione said, as the cup floated out of Ron’s hand into Hermione’s and she took a sip. Grinning as he laughed, he should be used to this by now, but it still had the ability to surprise him.


	4. Passed

Rain was trickling down the window and the wind was howling outside. The fire was burning, bleeding heat and light into the living room. Hermione sat at the table, a half-drunken cup of tea in her hand, parchment sprawled around her, the clock ticking away behind her.

Her eyes scanned the parchment on the top of the pile. She found herself reading and rereading one sentence, not able to take it in. Her breath was bated, her fingers tapping out a rhythm on the side of her cup, her eyes flicking up to check on the fire every few seconds.

The clock chimed on the wall behind her, as she finished off her tea. Gathering the bits of parchment together, she tied a ribbon around them, cleaned up the table and headed to the kitchen. The running water of the tap was barely heard of the wind beating against the house. Scrubbing the ink of her fingers, she washed and dried the dishes, put them away and turned back to the clock.

Straining her ears, she heard a woosh and ran into the living room staring wide eyed at the fire. It was empty, just as it had been for the past four hours. Had she gone crazy and started imagining sounds, or was it just a large gust of wind outside and she heard what she wanted to hear? Where was he? Hermione walked to the edge of the room, gave one last fleeting look at the fire, switched off the light and trudged upstairs, pausing every few steps, listening.

Halfway through putting on her pyjamas she heard a sound from downstairs, a more distinctive sound than before. She knew she wasn’t imagining it. Pulling one of Ron’s t-shirts over her head; she liked to wear them as nighties, as they smelt like him, which comforted her when he was out late; Hermione ran out of the room and down the stairs, coming to a stop a few metres from the fire.

Ron stepped out, his long black cloak billowing behind him, covered in ash, a broad smile plastered across his sooty face. Shaking the ash out of his hair, he looked over to Hermione, who was standing with a small smile twitching at the corners of her mouth.

“I passed! I’m in!” Ron exclaimed striding forward, wrapping his arms around Hermione’s waist and picking her off the floor as he hugged her.

A look a worry passed over Hermione’s face, unseen by Ron. Covering it up with a genuine smile she kissed Ron before her feet felt the floor again.

“I knew you would!”  Hermione said, running over to the table and grabbing a fresh piece of parchment.

Ron tore off his travelling cloak and hung it on the rack by the door. He kissed Hermione again before heading up the stairs, leaving Hermione bent over a freshly written stack of letters. One to Harry and Ginny, one to George, one to Bill and Fleur, one to Charlie, one to Neville and Luna, one to Percy, one to Hagrid and one to Mrs and Mr Weasley. She attached two to Pig and the rest to Marvin, sent them off out into the rain and ran upstairs.

“When do you start?” Hermione asked leaning against the bathroom door, watching Ron pull his pajamas out from underneath the pillow.

“Three days!” Ron exclaimed excitedly.

Hermione smiled back at him, turned on the shower and handed him a towel as he walked into the bathroom. Even the training and testing had resulting in a few injuries, and more late nights that Hermione could count. It was his dream, so she was so glad he reached it. But she was scared, that one day he wouldn’t make it home. That one day she would wait for the him to appear out of the fireplace but would have a sullen wizard knocking at her door instead.

“Hermione?” Ron said, watching her as he undressed.

“Sorry, just tired.” Hermione replied, kissing Ron, before glancing down at his bruised and bloodied body. It was just beginning.

“It’s nothing.” Ron replied following Hermione’s gaze. They hurt more than he would let on. Not because he didn’t want to appear weak, but because he didn’t want her to have to worry about him.

“I know.” Hermione said soothingly, kissing Ron again, not as fast this time, not soft, but hungry. Pulling apart after a few minutes, she looked down at him, biting her lip.

“Why don’t you join me?” Ron said, slipping out of his last piece of clothing, opening the shower door and stepping in. The steam spilled out of the open door onto Hermione, who stood still biting her lip.

“Don’t mind if I do.” Hermione said silkily, pulling Ron’s shirt over her head and dropping her underwear onto the bathroom floor before stepping into the shower behind him and shutting the door behind them.


	5. Positive

_No, it couldn’t be._ Hermione thought to herself staring down at the positive test sitting in her limp hands. She swore it was wrong. Around her were six other little white sticks, each and every one of them saying positive. Glancing down at her stomach, she tried to look for an outward sign. She couldn’t believe that she had something growing inside of her, a baby.

 _Our baby._ She thought to herself, a smile fighting its way onto her face. He would be happy, she knew he would be, probably. He was great with Teddy when he was little, and they still saw him once a fortnight. Ron was great with his nephews and nieces, he bought them cute little presents when they were out shopping, offered to babysit when he could and he would hang their drawings around the house. He would be a great dad, she needn’t worry. But what if he didn’t want this? What if he was comfortable being an uncle, being able to leave when it all got too much.

The fire sounded from the living room, sitting on the toilet with the lid down, she looked through the open bathroom door at the closed bedroom door. Should she tell him now? It was still early, what if…

“Hermione?” Ron called from below, his voice sounded cheery as usual. Completely unaware that his wife was trembling in the bathroom upstairs, wondering what to do.

“I’m up here.” Hermione yelled back, her voice shaking somewhat. She tried to stand up, to move, but her legs felt like jelly. She was nervous, she knew she shouldn’t be, but she was all the same.

“I… what’s wrong?” Ron pushed open the bedroom door, his eyes falling on her, her head staring at her lap, her whole body trembling.

He rushed towards her, falling to his knees in front of her. His thumb ran across her chin, forcing her eyes to rise from her lap and look into his blue piercing ones. His eyes lowered for a second, falling on the pregnancy test in her hand. Then moving his gaze, he scanned the room, taking notice on each white stick, and the several cases in the bin.

“Are you..?” Ron whispered, looking back into Hermione’s beautiful brown eyes.

“I’m pregnant.” Hermione whispered, watching his face in anticipation. Checking for any changes, any lines of worry, resentment, anything.

“Really?” Ron whispered his hands shaking slightly as he spoke.

Hermione nodded slowly, her eyes not moving, still staring intently. Ron stood up slowly, his arms falling limp to his sides.

“You’re pregnant!” Ron exclaimed, smiling broadly and pulling Hermione off the toilet and wrapped his arms around her, into a tight hug.

“I’m pregnant!” Hermione said, the excitement in her climbing, all the worry vanished by his smile.

Ron kissed her, letting her feel his smile against her lips. Lifting her off her feet, she wrapped her legs around her waist and let him carry her into the bedroom, laying her down onto the bed. Yanking his top over his head, he let it fall on the floor beside him as he kicked off his shoes. He paused for a moment looking at her thoughtfully.

“Why did you look worried?”

“I was worried. I just… I don’t know.” Hermione whispered, feeling her face go red as she sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. It was ridiculous that she ever doubted him, that she ever thought he wouldn’t be happy. But old habits die hard, and she convinced herself for years that he didn’t love her.

“I love you.” Ron said, almost as if he knew what she was thinking. Sitting down beside Hermione, holding her hand in his and placing the other hand on her stomach. Pulling up her shirt, he leant forward and kissed her stomach, “I love you too.” He whispered as he hovered over her stomach, smiling.

Hermione said nothing but wrapped her arms around him again, pulling him into a hug. They were going to have a baby.

Ron placed a hand on either cheek and kissed her again, this time their kiss deepened, Hermione pushing Ron onto the bed beneath her.

“Why don’t we just take this right off.” Ron whispered, his fingers tracing just underneath her ribcage, where her shirt was pushed up to. Lifting her arms above her head, she allowed Ron to pull it over her head before returning to their kiss.

It seemed weeks ago that she sat in the bathroom alone, worrying.

She was going to have a baby with the man she loved but now she was going to practice creating another.


	6. Jealousy

She hated seeing him with her. He didn’t know how she felt, how could he, she had never told a living soul but that didn’t change the fact that she loved him and couldn’t bear to see him with her.

She hated her. It wasn’t the way that she said his name, or how she gossiped continuously, or how she couldn’t hold of proper conversation with him, or that she worshiped Trelawney in their third year, believing everything she said. No, it was that she had him. That she could kiss him, hug him, touch him and she couldn’t.

How could he not realise that her heart smashed into little pieces every time she saw them together. Harry knew. She saw him watching her with sad eyes. He had felt this pain, he knew what it was like, she saw it in his eyes every time he looked at Ginny. He understood how much it hurt her.

It wasn’t just that she wanted Ron back as a friend. She wanted to have him wrap her arms around her, to tell her that she loved him and to kiss her in the hallway between classes, behind teachers backs. She wanted to sit with his arms around her, as Harry and them talked, did homework, or she sat in his arms reading, feeling his heart beat against her back, his breath on her face.

 _Shut up._ She told herself. She couldn’t think this, she just couldn’t. It would make it harder than it already was, if that was indeed possible. She had never experienced a pain worse than this. She lay awake at night hearing Lavender breathing softly in her sleep, and every cell of her body was jealous, jealous that she was Ron’s girlfriend. That she wasn’t. It made her sick to her stomach, every time she looked over at him, which was more than she was willing to admit.

She wanted him. That was all she wanted. Nothing else, just him, the one thing she couldn’t have. Was the one thing she wanted with all her heart. She sat there, staring out into space, her fork hanging limp in her hand, thinking. Thinking about what would have happened if she had told him how she felt, before he had kissed her. Would it be her that he kissed goodnight? That told her that he loved her every time he saw her? Granted he did neither to Lavender, but maybe, because he didn’t love her.

 _Not yet._ A small voice sounded in her head. Would he one day? Or was he incapable of loving her simply because he was in love with another? Someone he had been friends with for years? Someone with brown frizzy hair?

 _Not likely._ Another voice whispered. One could only hope and that was what she decided to do. She tried ignoring her feelings, blocking them out, but that failed miserably, she had to accept them. Now she had chosen the tactic to pretend he was secretly in love with her, not Lavender. Although this argument faded a tiny bit more each time she saw him stick his tongue down her throat.

“Hermione?” A faint voice came from far away.

Pulled out of her thoughts, her eyes came back into focus to see Ron hovering inches from her face wearing a curious expression. He was close enough to kiss. She could just lean a little bit closer, and he would know. She would kiss him and everything would be better.

But she wasn’t that girl. She wasn’t the girl to kiss someone who had a girlfriend. She wasn’t the girl who confessed her love, put herself on the line. She wasn’t the girl who got the guy, she just wasn’t.

“Yeah?” Hermione said, trying hard not to reach out and kiss him, trying hard not to lose herself in his beautiful blue eyes.

“You dropped this.” Ron said, extending his hand out, a piece of parchment with her writing slanting over it.

“Thanks.” Hermione said, taking it from his hand, their fingers brushing, sending a bolt of electricity through her. Smiling shakily at Ron, she lowered her eyes to the parchment, her food lying forgotten on her plate beneath her trembling hand, holding the parchment.

Inside she was fighting a battle, part of her desperate to yell his name, or to run after him, the other part telling her to stay seated and suck it up. Her eyes followed Ron as he walked away, slowly at first then sauntered off out of the Great Hall, without looking behind him.

Sighing, she folded the parchment and stuffed it into her bag, before rising from the table, dropping her fork on her half-eaten lunch and slowly walking out of the Great Hall, feeling worse than ever. His touch giving her a moment of exhilaration but now all she was left with was a longing for more.

Little did she know that he felt the exact same way. He wanted her more than anything. But he knew without a shadow of a doubt that she would never feel the same way. He loved her, but she would never love him. He would always be the boy with dirt on his nose, the boy who wasn’t able to make a feather fly.

She would never see him as someone who she could kiss, hug, or date. He would always be that little boy to her, who puked up slugs for hours after he used his broken wand, or the boy who wore his mother’s maroon jumpers. And that broke his heart.

Both of them were left with a deep longing, a throbbing pain in their heart. Neither of them knew that the other felt the same way and it would take them another year to figure that one out. By which time the rest of the world would be a different place entirely.


	7. Unfocused

The living room was lit purely with artificial light, the fire was burning away and the lights were turned on diminishing the shadows cast by the fire. Bright blue curtains were pulled over the window, blocking out the wind, the rain and the darkness.

It was well past midnight, in a few hours the sun would be rising. Ron sat hunched over the dining table, which was unrecognisable as parchment was sprawled over it, covering every inch of the wooden surface. His wand lay forgotten by his left arm, his eyes scanning the parchment, occasionally rifling through them to find a particular one. But apart from that the only sound was the scratching of the quill and the crackling on the fire.

The clock chimed 3 am, although its’ chiming barely penetrating Ron’s mind. He was nose deep in paper work and he wasn’t even half done. He had already sacrificed his entire week working nonstop, while parchment after parchment accumulated on his desk.

“Come to bed.” Hermione said from the bottom of the staircase, her hair was bushier than usual and she wore a tired expression on her face.

“Soon.” Ron answered not looking up, but continuing to write at an increasing pace.

Hermione sighed, folded her arms and slowly approached the fire. She wasn’t warm enough in one of Ron’s tee-shirts which she became accustomed to wearing when he was out late for work. They smelt like him and it made him feel close.

“You said that at 11.” Hermione muttered, crouching down and warming her hands.

“So..” Ron said distractedly as he hunted through the pile for a piece of parchment.

“That was four hours ago!” Hermione exclaimed as she straightened up.

“Bloody hell.” Ron muttered, looking up finally.

He turned to look at the clock behind him, his surprise furthering as he found out it was indeed 3 am. Then he turned to Hermione, who was standing in front of the fire, her arms crossed, with large bags under her eyes.

“You need to get some sleep.” Ron said, turning back to the table.

“So do you!” Hermione exclaimed.

“I’m not even tired, you look exhausted.” Ron said. He dipped his quill in the ink before grabbing a fresh piece of parchment numbering the corner and beginning to write.

“I don’t sleep well when you aren’t here.” Hermione stood behind Ron now, draping her arms around his neck before kissing him on the cheek. “How much more do you have to go?” She whispered into his ear.

“A lot. I was gone for a week.” Ron said, pulling away from Hermione as he continued to write.

Hermione stepped back and looked at him incredulously.

“Really? That’s news to me.” Hermione almost yelled, her face growing red.

Ron rose from his seat, and took a step towards Hermione. Wrapping his arms around her waist, she pulled him close to him. Moving one of his hands up to her face, he traced her jaw before pushing a piece of hair behind her hair.

“I missed you.” Ron whispered. She could feel his hot breath against her skin and his heart beat pulsating through her hand that rested on his chest.

“I missed you too.” Hermione whispered.  His lips found hers, pulling her into a passionate kiss, their tongues battling in their mouths, their hands exploring each other’s bodies after 7 days of separation.

To Hermione’s disappointment Ron tore his lips from hers after only a few minutes, and turned back to his work, flopped himself down on the chair before resuming his writing.

Hermione sighed, this was not what she had in mind for his first night back. Even though she was at work most of the day, coming home to an empty house night after night wasn’t something she enjoyed doing. She missed his smile, his laugh, his touch, his voice, his lips on hers.

Happy as she was that he loved what he was doing, she couldn’t stand the danger he was on every day and she especially despised the missions. Some lasted a few hours, others a few days. His longest one yet had been 9 days, which ended only two days before he left for another 5 days.

What she hated most was not knowing how long they would be, there was no way for Ron to contact her, so she just had to wait.

Today at work he had come back during lunch, they shared a hug and a passionate kiss before she was pulled away to a meeting. She came home before him, thinking that he would already be home. She searched the house before taking a bath. By the time she got out he was downstairs, buried in paperwork. But that was hours ago now, he even missed dinner before she gave up and went to bed, after he promised that he would be up soon.

“Come to bed.” Hermione repeated as she wrapped her arms around him.

“I have to finish this.” Ron replied, not slowing down, his quill racing across the page.

“Ron…” Hermione moaned into his ear, sending shivers down his spines, he missed her voice, her touch and how he could make him feel among other things.

“Who would’ve thought you would be persuading me to stop working.” Ron said, ignoring the goosebumps covering his body.

“Things change.” Hermione whispered, breathing him in. his shirt wasn’t enough of him, it had lost its scent over the past week.

“The sooner I finish it…” Ron started, attempting to remain firm.

“The sooner you start more work. It’s never ending sometimes.” Hermione grumbled, she hated how hard they both had to work, it meant they had less time together.

“Hermione..” Ron whispered. As Hermione’s hand wandered beneath his shirt he took a sharp intake of breath.

“Why don’t you take a break?” Hermione whispered into his ear, her arms still wrapped tightly around him, as she ran her fingers slowly up his chest.

“I can’t” Ron said, trying desperately to focus on his work. He didn’t have time to be distracted.

“I’ve heard that physical activity can stimulate the brain. It can clear it.” Hermione nibbled on his ear as she spoke.

“Does it?” Ron said, his eyes still looking down but he was steadily losing his resolve.

“Uh huh.” Hermione nodded against him. Lightly kissing down his neck she paused at his collar bone and sucked before she whispered, “I know what you can do..”

“What’s that?” Ron said, closing his eyes, focussing on breathing in and out.

“Me.” Hermione whispered, her fingers trailing down to the top of his jeans.

Ron strained to keep his attention on the mountain of work he still had to finish, but this became increasingly difficult as Hermione played with the buckle on his belt.

“Bloody hell.” Ron said as he opened his eyes, stood up swiftly and turned to face Hermione. A brief smile flickered on her face, as she knew she had convinced him. Bending down he swept his arm underneath her leg and picked her up in one smooth motion.

“Finally!” Hermione exclaimed kissing him as he carried her up the staircase.

Ron nudged the door open with his foot before he strode in and sat Hermione on the bed, pulling his shirt off her immediately. Hermione hurriedly undid his belt and pulled his jeans and briefs down as he ripped his top off.

“Bloody hell.” Hermione muttered, breathing in sharply. His body was covered in a whole new layer of cuts, bruises and general abrasions, but more impressively, his body had become more muscular since she had last seen him, and she chose to focus on that.

Reaching her hands out she grasped his neck and pulled him down on top of her, wrapping her legs around him as she kissed him.


	8. Blood

Above her the clouds turned grey and started to group together in the sky, rain was coming, she knew that. She was just hoping that she could get home before it started. Walking quickly down the street with her beaded bag slung on her shoulder, and a shopping bag in her hand she sighed. Hermione hated going home to an empty house. She would put on music, turn on the fire and wear his shirt just for the smell of him, but it wasn’t the same. It still felt strange. She missed talking to him, kissing him, just him being there with her.

Reaching their house, their first proper house together, they had finally bought last year she pulled out her key. She loved that they had keys, it was so ordinary, so muggle like. She didn’t have to use her wand, she just had to put the key in the lock and the door would open. She smiled as she looked down at the key, it was weird but when Ron wasn’t here she spent time reminiscing.

The keys were his idea, his magic. She was at work when the house was officially theirs. He came into her office, as she was getting ready to leave, so they could go home together, which they did as often as they could and gave her the key. At first she thought it cute, but when he explained the magic she thought it was amazing, and a great idea on his behalf. Only the two keys, and then two spares given to Harry and Molly, could open the door.

Pushing the key into the lock and twisting it, Hermione opened the door walked in and stood still looking at the already burning fireplace.

“Ron?” Hermione whispered, not sure whether to believe it.

“In the kitchen.” Ron replied.

Hermione shut the door behind her, dropped her bags and ran towards the delicious smell coming from the kitchen. He was making her dinner.

“You’re home!” Hermione said, wrapping her arms around Ron who stiffened as she did so, kissed the top of her head and then pulled back.

“How was it?” Hermione said, her concerned eyes running over Ron, trying to figure out if any serious injuries took place. Ron’s hair was still slightly wet from the shower, his face had a few minor scratches, nothing that wouldn’t be gone by tomorrow, he was wearing an olive green long sleeved jumper and his old baggy, grey track pants.

“Why don’t I tell you during dinner.” Ron said, flicking his wand and sending more ingredients into the frying pan.

“I’m just going to have a shower. Care to join me?” Hermione said, kissing Ron before he pulled away again.

“Maybe later, dinner will be ready in five.” Ron said turning back to his cooking.

“Oh ok.” Hermione said, trying to keep the disappointment out of her tone.

Leaving the kitchen, she ran up the stairs and she got a change of clothes from their bedroom and then jumped in the shower. After a long day of work, she loved the feel of the warm water running down her face, and the tantalising smells of dinner wafting under the door and filling the room. He was back, she loved it when he was home.

 

“’Mione!” Ron yelled as he plated up the dinner. Flicking his wand, he moved the parchment that he had spread across the table and shifted it onto the table by the fire, so he could continue it after dinner.

Hermione pulled her hair up into a messy bun, opened the bathroom window and placed her hairbrush on the sink, managing to knock her tweezers onto the floor as she did so. She groaned, then lowered herself onto her stomach and looked underneath the bath.

Finding her tweezers, she went to grab them when she spotted two droplets of blood, one smudged by the top of a finger, no doubt by Ron trying to clean them up. Grabbing her tweezers Hermione stood up and scanned the bathroom, looking for another sign, but she found none.

Not content with her search, but knowing there was nothing else left to find she made her way into the living room/dining room. Throughout dinner, Hermione filled Ron in on her last six days, how Harry and Ginny were doing, and what everyone had been up to.

Ron spoke briefly of his mission, he never really liked talking about what he saw or did there, especially this soon after coming home. Hermione didn’t bring up the blood, although it often returned to the front her thoughts, whenever she saw him flinch, or was she just imagining it?

After dinner, they washed the dishes together like they always did, Ron washing and Hermione drying. It often surprised her how easy it was to talk to him, they never ran out of things to say. They had a routine, when Ron was home to uphold it at least.

When they had finished the dishes they would make their way through their pile of parchment, reading and writing as needed. Hermione would sit at the dinner table, the parchment spread around her. And Ron would sit on the floor, leant against the couch in front of the fire, parchment spread both on the floor and on the table in front of him. Every so often one of them would get up, make tea for them both, kiss, then get back to work.

 

Three hours and four cups of tea later Hermione was only halfway through her sizeable stack of parchment, when she could take it no longer.

“Ron.” She said, turning away from the table and looking at him. He was leaning against the couch in a slightly contorted position, not in a way that she had often seen him in before.

“Yeah.” He replied absentmindedly, still absorbed in the piece of parchment he was reading.

“Whats wrong?” Hermione asked, staring at him, concern clear in her eyes. Ron looked up at her as she spoke, his blue eyes finding hers.

“Wrong? Nothings wrong.” Ron said blank faced, his whole body remaining still under her gaze.

“Then take off your shirt.” Hermione said. Standing up from her chair, she began walking towards him, slowly but purposely.

“What?” Ron said looking puzzled up at Hermione as she approached.

“Take off your shirt.” Hermione repeated, her eyes watching Ron’s every move as she spoke.

“No.” Ron said, backing away slightly as she reached out her hand. He moved his body quickly, and his face turned a little paler as he did so.

Hermione grabbed at the bottom of his shirt, and immediately felt his whole body stiffen when she made contact with him. He bit back any sort of sound, but his face went a tell-tale white, as he grimaced, and clenched his fists.

“Ron!” Hermione exclaimed dropping her hand and stepping back. “Whats wrong?”

Ron stood up shakily, pushing himself up with his right arm against the parchment covered table. His face was whiter still when he stood up, all night he had been able to cover up his pain, but he was no longer doing so well.

“Hermione, you have to promise me you won’t freak out.” Ron said staring into her eyes, pale faced and scared as he spoke.

“Ron..” Hermione muttered, her expression worried as she watched him, looking for some sort of tell.

Ron lowered his right hand to the bottom of his shirt and slowing pulled it over his head. Hermione raised her hand to cover her mouth, and turned whiter still as inch by inch more skin was exposed. She bit back a moan, as he gently dropped his shirt on the ground and looked up at her.

“Holy shit what happened!” Hermione said rooted to the spot, her hand still covering her mouth, her eyes wide with fear.

In front of her Ron stood shaking, he had a giant gash 2 inches long across his stomach, his forearm still soaked in blood, looking like he had been mauled by a tiger. They were the most pronounced injuries, but he was covered by many others ranging in size and depth.

“The healer said I just have to let them settle, in a few days he can do some work, and they should be gone in a week.” Ron said, looking up at Hermione, biting down on his lip as she ran her eyes along him.

“Why didn’t you tell me!” Hermione shrieked, her eyes trying to take it all in, but each time being more surprised at the added details she noticed.

“Because I didn’t want to worry you!” Ron yelled back, watching Hermione closely as he did so, trying to gauge how upset she was.

“And you just thought I wouldn’t notice!” Hermione moved slowly towards him as she yelled, taking in the severity of some of his smaller cuts as she came closer.

“Well.. I..” Ron started, he hadn’t really thought that far ahead.

“You look like you’ve been hit with Snape’s spell.” Hermione whispered, her breath hot against Ron’s chest, her hand stretching out to touch him, but hesitating as she drew near.

“Not that exactly, but something like it.” Ron whispered, looking down at Hermione as she continued to look but not touch.

“How did this happen?” Hermione said resting her palm on the one part of his chest that held no abrasion.

“You know how I said about the last house raid and that we got them, all seven of them?” Ron said, speaking slowly, his right hand placed on Hermione’s waist as he spoke.

“You kind of brushed over that. They’re all in Azkaban right.” Hermione said looking up at Ron, still looking worried.

“Five of them are, two are dead. I got off better than Norman and Steven, they are both still in St Mungo’s.”  Ron said not looking at Hermione but fixed on a spot of the wall, above her head.

“You were in St Mungo’s!” Hermione exclaimed, desperately trying to catch Ron’s eye.

“Well yeah, I said the healer said that..” Ron looked down at Hermione as she spoke, looking surprised.

“Why didn’t anyone call me!” Hermione yelled, glaring up at Ron.

“It was only about two hours before you came home.” Ron said, giving Hermione a weak smile.

“I would have come!” Hermione yelled, she hated this part of his job. She knew that he loved it, she didn’t even mind the endless paper work, but it was the injuries, the thought that he could be dead one day soon, that she couldn’t take.

“I know, but they were worse then.” Ron whispered. His eyes widening slightly as he finished, knowing that he shouldn’t have added that extra part.

“Worse?” Hermione repeated, looking down at his torso then back at him, her fight drained out of her.

“Yeah.” Ron answered lamely, looking down at the floor again, not wanting to upset or worry Hermione further.

“Ron.” Hermione whispered as she gingerly placed her hands on his cheeks and kissed him as passionately, but at the same time as softly as she could manage. For the first time tonight he kissed back, and it was Hermione that pulled away after a few minutes.

Looking down at the table, she saw his pile of uncompleted paperwork, the piles he still had to read, to sort and to write on. Picking his cup off the floor, she headed off to her to the table and grabbed her cup off the windowsill.

“I’m going to make us some tea.” Hermione said, flicked her wand and heating up the water in an instant.

Ron smiled at Hermione as she disappeared into the kitchen. One would think after the adventure they had with Harry she would be more accustomed to seeing injuries, and after years of Ron being an Auror, she would be more accustomed to seeing his injuries. But she worried and fretted over him, and in a way he loved that. He loved knowing that she cared. Pulling his top gently back on, he lowered himself gingerly to the ground and leant against the couch, biting down on his lip as he moved himself into a comfortable position.

He liked their routine, especially when Hermione finished before him, and sat on the couch reading, brushing her fingers through his hair absentmindedly as she did so. He missed it when he was gone.


	9. Introductions

The silence that had fallen over the school had long since dispersed. The Great Hall was now alive with activity, the dead had been moved, the injured had been relocated and all those that remained were talking, laughing, crying and eating.

Hermione, Ginny, Harry and Ron sat together in the corner, trying to keep to themselves. It wasn’t that they disliked talking to the others, it was that they felt more comfortable with each other, where they could avoid the unanswerable questions and being showered with both undeserved and deserved praise.

Harry and Ginny rose from their seats as they spotted a huddle of eager looking people heading in their direction. Keeping his face to the floor Harry walked off swiftly, with Ginny shielding her face with the long hair. They had previously established that Ron and Hermione would take up the task of delaying the crowds so that Harry could escape, for now anyway.

“Good evening.” Ron said warmly, his voice dripping in sarcasm that was missed by the new comers.

“Was that Harry Potter?” An excited looking witch asked in a high pitched voice, accompanied by a squeal as she went up on her tip-toes and peered past them.

“Certainly looks that way doesn’t it.” Ron said, glancing over at Harry and Ginny who were almost running out of the front doors.

“And you must be?” Another witch stepped forward, her voice low and sullen.

“I’m Ron..ald and this is my.. uh.. this is Hermione.” Ron offered lamely. He extended out his hand and shook everyone’s hand, as they oohed and ahhed at Hermione and him, recognising their names from the Daily Prophet and the stories circulating about them.

“Is it true..” The high pitched witch started a curious expression on her face.

“I’m sorry. I just remembered we have an interview… well would you look at that, now. Best be off. You can read it all about in….” Ron spoke with a fake smile plastered on his face, but faltered not knowing how to continue.

“Rita Skeeter’s new book, should be out in a month or two.” Hermione joined in, smiled at them all as she stood up and Ron grabbed her hand, pulling her away from the group as they headed out of one of the side doors, leaving the group chatting excitedly.

Walking swiftly, they checked behind them every few metres, making sure no one was following them or loitering in the hallways. Once they were sure they were alone, they slowed their pace.

“That was close.” Ron said, wrapping his arm around Hermione’s shoulder and pulling her towards him.

“Hmm.” Hermione spoke into his chest, her arm wrapped around his waist.

“What?” Ron stopped walking, his eyes on Hermione.

“You said, ‘this is my..’ and then you stopped. I’m your what?” Hermione looked up at him, biting her bottom lip as she spoke.

Ron ears turned red and his cheeks flushed, proving that Hermione was on to something.

“Uhm.. gfen.” Ron muttered, looking at a crack on the wall, blushing profusely.

“Oh right your jafen, of course.” Hermione said, impatiently watching Ron.

“Girlfriend.” Ron said his eyes still focussed on the wall.

“Oh..” Hermione breathed. It was her turn to blush, but her eyes did not look away from his face.

“I was going to say, this is my girlfriend, but then I… uhm.” Ron looked into her brown eyes and was lost for words again.

“I’m your girlfriend…” Hermione whispered, her arms snaking around his neck, a smile etched into her face.

“Well, I thought so, yeah.” Ron stammered, still nervous.

Hermione didn’t answer, but simply put her lips on his. He felt his nervousness melt away as he ran his hands down her back and deepened their kiss.

“Maybe we should go to the common room, boyfriend.” Hermione whispered as their lips separated.

“Good idea.” Ron whispered back.


	10. Nerves

The dinner table was covered in parchment and ink bottles, the floor surrounding it covered with screwed up balls, old parchment that was full of errors and mistakes. Not wanting to disrupt the piling, just to replace it an hour later, Ron had decided that they would be eating on the floor in front of the fire instead. In the corner of their lounge, was a square marked out in masking tape. It was where they would apparate in and out of, if they couldn’t floo in. After Ginny and Harry almost had a bad accident at Grimmauld Place, Hermione had taped up a corner to avoid any possible catastrophes.

Crack!

“Dinner is served.” Hermione announced as she stepped out of the duct taped square and her eyes scanned the lounge, noticing that the couches had been pushed away to make room for them to sit in front of the fire.

“Smells delicious babe.” Ron said as he walked out of the kitchen, a bottle of wine and two glasses in his hand. After gently placing them down on the rug by the fire, he wrapped his arms around Hermione and kissed her hello.

“Let’s eat, I’m starving.” Hermione said as they separated after a few moments of passion.

“Sounds good to me.” Ron replied, picking the bag of thai food from the ground beside Hermione, where she had placed it as they kissed. They sat in front of the fire chatting amicably about their days while they ate, until Hermione became submerged deep in thought, and they ate in silence.

After a few minutes of absentmindedly poking her leftover pad thai with her chopsticks, Hermione placed them on the top of the box, and rested it on the ground in front of her. She nervously played with her hands for a moment before looking across at Ron who was still eating steadily.

“Ron.” Hermione whispered, trying to gain the confidence to begin this topic of conversation.

“Her-my-nee.” Ron said his mouth full of food. He looked over at Hermione, then placed his food on the floor beside him.

“I was.. I think.. that… we should discuss having children. I know we have before and everything, but I’ve been thinking about it for a while now and I think that we’re ready. At least I am. I’m ready for this, and I think we have, well I have been for a while. And I’ve seen you with your nieces and nephews, so I know you’re great with kids. So I think that you’re ready too, and I just… shit I’m rambling. Basically, I’m ready to have children.” Hermione said hurriedly, her eyes on Ron, watching nervously for any flinching or signs of surprise. But instead of doing either he smiled.

“Ok.” Ron said, grinning at Hermione.

“What.. you.. you already knew didn’t you.” Hermione said, her eyes widening as she jumped up and stared incredulously down at Ron.

“By a while now, you mean a few weeks don’t you.” Ron said, his blue eyes sparkling as he slowly rose, taking a step towards Hermione, so close she could feel his breath on her skin.

“Well… I guess so. Yes, a few weeks.” Hermione said still sounded stunned.

“You have been working up the nerve to discuss this with me for at least a week now.” Ron said, not asking her, but telling her what he already knew to be true.

“Why didn’t you tell me you knew!” Hermione exclaimed blushing as Ron’s grin widened.

“You needed to do this in your own time. There was no point rushing you.” Ron said knowingly, causing Hermione to smile back at him.

“But how did you?” Hermione asked, still not able to work out how he guessed it, how he knew.

“You are my wife, how could I not notice, I notice everything about you.” Ron said, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her closer to him.

“Everything huh? What else do you notice?” Hermione said, losing herself in his beautiful blue eyes that she had always loved so dearly.

“I notice how smart, kind, gorgeous and sexy my wife is.” Ron said, his hands playing with the bottom of her shirt as he spoke. “I also notice how much better this top looks on the floor.” Ron whispered, as he ripped it off over her head, she raised her arms to aid him, and lowered them slowly to her side as he dropped her shirt on the floor beside them.

“What else?” Hermione whispered her arms limp by her side.

Ron wrapped his arms back around her waist as he kissed her. Her whole body ignited as his passion took control over her. Her tongue slid across his lip attempting to gain entry before he suddenly pulled away. Hermione went to kiss him, but he was already slowly trailing kisses down her neckline. Hermione remained still as he lowered himself slowly, past her collar, hesitating on her bra, before continuing down to her belly button.

“I think these need to come off. Don’t you?” Ron said his eyes looking into her soft brown eyes, as his hands undid the button of her jeans.

Hermione nodded, smiling down at Ron.

His hands slid back to her waist, and instead of pulling her jeans down as he normally did, he guided them down, his hands running across her bare skin as inch by inch it was exposed, as he pushed her jeans to the ground. Hermione couldn’t help but moan slightly as he did so, the feel of his hands against of her skin was all she needed.

Looking back up at her, he rose slowly, leaving her jeans on the ground beside her shirt. Hermione quickly tugged at the bottom of his shirt and then pulled it over his head before he had straightened up.  Moving his head slightly, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a passionate kiss, their mouths moving against each other, and their hands roaming the skin they hadn’t touched all day.

Hermione fought to suppress another moan as Ron’s hands brushed over her, touching places that had longed for him throughout the day. A thought popped in to her mind suddenly, she tore her lips away from his and pushed him away, with her hands resting on his bare chest.

“Are we.. are you ready?” Hermione said breathlessly, feeling his heartbeat through her fingers.

“Always have been love.” Ron said, his hands still moving against her. Drawing her focus away from what she wanted to ask.

“So… now?” Hermione asked, smiling up at his grinning face.

“Practice makes perfect.” Ron said, as Hermione slid the zip down from his jeans, her fingers latched onto his belt loops and pulled his jeans down, quickly removing them, discarding them on the floor beside them. Ron grabbed his wand off the couch, flicked it slightly and sent their food and everything around their feet into the kitchen, before dropping his wand back on the couch.

Hermione opened her mouth to reply, but Ron wrapped his arms around her, pressed his mouth against her and lowered her onto the floor beneath him, making her moan again.

“Ron.” Hermione moaned her hands grasping his shoulders as tightly as she could manage, as she wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him as close to her as she could, wanting every inch of him pressed up against her.


	11. Tent

She still hadn’t forgiven him. Not at all. She had cried outside the tent, screaming his name, and he just left without looking back. She had cried herself to sleep at night, when Harry had already dozed off. For weeks whenever she heard a rustling in the bushes around them she had looked up hopeful, wishing to see the top of his flaming red hair and his smile, but again and again she was disappointed.

And then he came back. It wasn’t that she didn’t care that he saved Harry or destroyed the horcrux that had been taunting them for months. Is what that she hated herself for being so happy at his return but also resenting him for leaving them, for leaving her.

Around her he was silent and withdrawn. But when he went outside with Harry, when he thought she couldn’t hear him he was happy and cheerful. She would look up from her book and see his smile, making her heart flutter, wishing he was smiling at her. His arrival had not only destroyed the horcrux but had Harry happier and more relaxed. Everything was better now he was back, but she still hated him. She hated him for leaving and for making her feel that way. In her dreams, he never left and upon waking she was even more upset than usual. But sometimes she had nightmares, that he was dead and he was never coming back.

Their protective enchantments had worked so well so she knew that would never be able to find them again, but she still hoped he would return. And he did, he was back and he was safe. She was still mad, but she didn’t think that Ron would ever understand why she was so mad. Part of her didn’t think she was even fully aware of all her reasons.

Outside she heard his laugh, which was quickly followed by Harry’s, she had almost forgotten what they sounded like, smiling she looked up, but all she could see was the inside of tent. Her whole body ached to see the smile that when with Ron’s laugh, but she stayed where she was.

Her anger slowing simmering away, she looked down at her book, not focusing on the words on the page, but just the sounds of their happy voices penetrating the tent.


	12. On the Way

The sun shone through the window onto the desk, not a drop of rain pattered against the window. That was irrelevant to the weather outside though, Ron knew for a fact there was a thunderstorm taking place as he had just been out in the weather, getting blasted around by the wind and avoiding various curses being fired at him.

Having captured the assailants and sent them off to Azkaban, he had dried himself off upon arrival and had just sat down in front the pile of paperwork that had been stacked on his desk during the several hours he had been out of the office.

Sorting through the red pieces of parchment first, he quickly wrote replies and sent them back with a light flick of his wand. He then turned his attention to the stack of parchment in front of him, and with a flick of his wand he moved it to the side, then flipped it over. He found that starting at the bottom was the best way to do it as they had been waiting the longest.

The others wouldn’t be in for a few hours, he preferred to start work early, he tried not to spend most of his time at work, but it did fluctuate. Hermione was usually working all hours too, so they would spend lunch and dinner together, then apparate home when they had finished.

But Hermione had been forced to take some time off, by both of their parents. She was going to take time off anyway but her mother and Molly had insisted she had an extra month and Ron wholeheartedly agreed, as did Ginny and Harry, so there was no way out of it.

The weeks leading up to the time she was scheduled to take off, she realised that she needed the extra time as she wasn’t going to last much longer, going at the same pace, working the same hours. Ron and her would take the Muggle way home as she feared apparating, just in case. She still remembered splinching Ron, it helped that she saw the scars carved into his shoulder every day. She didn’t want to risk anything.

The only sound in the room was the scratching of quill on paper as Ron wrote, pausing only to dip it in ink or to glance at his watch. He could hear people talking down the corridor, the footsteps above him and the general every day sounds of the Ministry. The muted sound of owls squawking from the long distance delivery room two floors down, the inter-office memos darting through the rooms and the clanging of the lifts, the woman’s voice cold and crisp introducing each floor as the lift doors opened.

Ron was halfway through the pile of parchment, having sent off and filled as he went when the door swung open and a wizard ran in with a pile of mail.

“This just came for you.” The wizard said, waving his wand so that letters flew out of the pile and landed on their desks, and held out a letter to Ron, holding it by his fingertips.

Ron gave a shaky smile, grabbed the letter from the wizard and muttered, “Thanks.”

“Do it fast, like a ripping off a bandaid as the Muggles say.” The wizard smiled at Ron and added, “Sorry” as he turned and swept out of the room.

How bad could it be, thought Ron. No one else was here yet. Sure they would be able to hear it down the corridor and probably on the floor above and below, but still, it would be muffled. Taking a deep breath, he opened the Howler, letting it drift in front of him for a second before speaking.

“Hello Honey, you better…” Molly’s voice rang out, not screaming, just a little high pitched.

She was cut off by a loud scream of pain in the background. Ron went white as a sheet, was it what he thought it was, or something else?

“you better hurry home.” Molly said, her voice slightly shaking, yelling over what appeared to be Ginny’s voice in the background as well as Fleur’s.

“RON!” Hermione yelled, “IF YOU MISS THIS I WILL CURSE YOU!”

“The baby’s coming. Come quickly, see you soon.”  Molly yelled over the Hermione’s screams and Ginny’s yelling. The letter shredded itself in front of a pale faced Ron.

Frozen for a second, he shook his head, grabbed his travelling cloak off the back of the chair, hurriedly scribbled, ‘ _Baby’s coming. Come to the Burrow.’_ On a red piece of parchment, sent it off to Harry and ran out of the room as if his robes were on fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The rest of this can be found in a separate stand alone fic, also called On the Way.


	13. Sock

Halfway through pulling on her sock she heard it. He was home.

Leaving her other sock abandoned on the foot of the bed, she ran towards the noise, tearing her bedroom door open in front her and leaving it to slam against the door stop in her wake.

Hesitating on the top of the staircase her eyes found him, he was standing in front of the fireplace pulling off his travelling coat and sodden boots, and sending them to their proper places by the front door with a flick of his wand.

Shrieking inwardly Hermione bounded down the steps and launched herself off the second to last one into Ron’s open arms. Wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist she kissed him full on the mouth.

“I missed you.” She muttered, her lips hovering millimetres from his as they gasped for breath, their foreheads resting against each other as they stared into each other’s eyes. Ron’s shining blues took Hermione to a place of serenity she had failed to find in the last 13 days of his absence.

“I missed you too.” Ron replied, slowing his breaths from erratic to soft, he could feel Hermione’s heart pulsing against his chest.

Her whole body was pushed against Ron, not wanting to be even a breath apart. She had longed to be this close to him for endless hours as she sat waiting by the fire absentmindedly scanning the pages of a book as she remained hopeful that in a few seconds he would step out of the fireplace, travel worn but happy and alive in front of her.

“Are you hurt?” Hermione asked, her iron grip around his neck loosening as she feared she was hurting him. She scanned her eyes over him, trying to find any dried blood or tears in his clothing. His face was a bit scratched, but he had worn worse.

“No, I’m fine. Better than that, I’m home.” Ron whispered against her neck as he trailed kisses down her collar bone. Not willing to wait another second she unwrapped her arms from around his neck and placed her hands on either side of his face, pulling his lips to hers. She wanted to kiss him, just as she had dreamt about during the last few nights as she slept in his t-shirt, his scent wrapping around her, making her feel safe.


	14. One Sided

The wind whistled, the birds chirped and the trees swayed but Hermione ignored it all. She stood still, smiling for the first time in days.

“Little Elsa was born today, she is beautiful, well of course she is and Tim hasn’t asked if they can swap his sister for a cat yet which is good.” Hermione told Ron, her smile widening as she remembered Rose trying to send Hugo back to the St Mungo’s and exchange him when he wouldn’t play with her.

“Katie is turning four on Tuesday, I got her the enchanted swing set. I know it’s not we discussed but Rose is getting that for her, and it would be silly to have two.” Hermione continued, rambling on as she always did, not letting anyone get a word in edge ways once she had started.

“You wouldn’t believe what Leah did yesterday, Hugo told me that Leah set a tree on fire in the back yard when he was babysitting. Oh and Neville is thinking about retiring, about time too.” Hermione sighed, she had been trying Neville to retire for the last two years, and he was finally listening.

Silence filled the air for a few moments as Hermione remained still, so much more that she wanted to say but she couldn’t bring herself to say much more.

“I wish you were here Ron.” Hermione whispered as she leaned forward and rested her hand on the cold stone. She didn’t bother to check behind her before she flicked her wand and laid flowers on the grass at her feet. As she shoved her wand back into her cloak she used her free hand to wipe away the lone tear that was making its way down her cheek.

“I’ll be back tomorrow.” Hermione said as she gave the stone one last look and gave a small sad smile at the fresh flowers she had put in front of Ron’s grave. Tightening her coat she walked a few steps before she apparated, leaving the graveyard empty once more. The graveyard that once was full of names she didn’t recognise but now was full of her family.


	15. Teddy

Hermione wasn’t sure who looked cuter, Ron or Teddy. Ron was sitting on the floor at the foot of the couch, his hands holding Teddy’s. He was talking to him in that childish tone that all people over 14 take with little ones. He was picking up toys and making them spin around their heads, making Teddy chuckle and stretch his little chubby arms towards them, trying to reach. Ron was laughing along with him in a cheery way, making bubbles of all shapes and sizes push themselves out of the top of his wand and float around Teddy just in his reach and popping with little squeaks and tiny exploding fireworks.

“Teddy, dinner!” A yell came from the kitchen. The little boys face fell for a moment as he knew this meant the flying toys and bursting bubbles had come to an end, but at least it meant food. Ron stood up, placed his wand in his back pocket and scooped Teddy off the ground.

“Bye Won.” Teddy said as he was handed into his grandmothers open arms and waved goodbye with a huge smile across his face.

“See ya later Teddy.” Ron said a matching smile spread across his face as he waved back. Turning to face Hermione he added, “Ready?”

“Bye Andromeda!” Hermione yelled into the kitchen after she nodded to Ron and stood up. Walking out the back door her hand slipped into his and their fingers intertwined.

Crack!

“What?” Ron said, noticing Hermione’s strange expression as she stared at him. They were now standing in front of the Burrow, underneath the shade of some old tree that was covered in golden brown leaves.

“Nothing. Teddy’s cute isn’t he?” Hermione said not wanting to address the issue. She thought it was better left unsaid, she had known Ron for years and was pretty sure she could predict his reaction, plus they had only been dating for just over a year now.

“Yeah, he’s brilliant.” Ron said his eyes up at the sun, a smile of fondness still on his lips. Between Harry, Ginny, Hermione and him they made sure that they visited every few days. They all knew that it was hard on Andromeda bringing up her grandson on her own, even with friends popping round every few hours to help out.

“I wonder how much like his parents he will be.” Hermione said watching Ron watching the sun. She was trying to gauge what he was thinking.

“No doubt he’ll be loud..” Ron said turning away from Hermione now, their hands still tightly clasping each other.

“Like Tonks.” Hermione added.

“and smart.” Ron said, walking slowly towards the fence.

“Definitely, like both of them.” Hermione said, still wondering what Ron was thinking only moments ago and still marvelling at how great he was with Teddy. This of course wasn’t news to her, but today she noticed it on another level. She couldn’t quite work out why today felt different.

“Not as smart as our kids will be, if they get your brains, which I sure hope they do.” Ron said not missing a beat as he opened the gate and they both walked towards the back door

“Huh.” Hermione breathed standing on spot. She thought that this was a subject that she shouldn’t bring up, it never occurred to her how it might feel if he said it to her.

“Oh uh.” Ron stammered, turning to face Hermione, holding both her hands in his, his cheeks turning red. He opened his mouth to say more but Hermione pulled her hands from his and threw them around his neck, pulling him in to a kiss. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he brought her closer to him, increasing the intensity of their kiss. After a minute or so, they remembered where they were and pulled away from each other.

“Shall we go in?” Ron said taking Hermione’s hand in his and shutting the gate behind them.

“I think so.” Hermione said barely able to control herself, glad that Molly was out for the day.


	16. Help

It was impossible to say why Ron had decided to skip dinner and be alone in the common room, while everyone else chatted and ate downstairs. The weather outside was freezing but in the chair where he sat by the fire he was warm. On him sat a heavy dusty old book that he was searching through, trying to find the right page, he knew he had read it the other day but he couldn’t remember which page, let alone which chapter. Around him on both the table and the floor sat his textbooks, some open and some shut, blank pieces of parchment, a few with his writing scribbled over it and a few in balls on the floor where he had screwed up.

The portrait swung open and Ron looked up, nobody should be back, he usually had a good 45 minutes before anyone came back, he was only just getting started. He couldn’t help but smile when he saw who it was but his smile vanished as Hermione looked around the room, seemingly disappointed by what she saw.

“Oh hey.” Hermione said as her eyes rested on Ron, she seemed to be weighing something in her mind, but Ron had no idea what it could possibly be, although his mind to wander to her deciding whether or not she should just leave.

“Why aren’t yo…” Ron started, as Hermione’s eyes scanned the room, and finding it empty a small smile flashed on her face.

“I need your help.” Hermione said cutting across Ron and taking a step forward. Pausing as she registered the look of surprise on his face.

“My help?” Ron said slowly, why on earth would Hermione need his help, there wasn’t anything that she didn’t know, and if there was he certainly wouldn’t know it.

“With some homework.” Hermione added, as she took another step forward, again being surprised by his shocked expression.

“Really?” Ron said, staring at Hermione.

“Why do you sound so surprised?” Hermione asked as she continued to make her way towards Ron, she had imagined this conversation in her head over and over again in the past few days, she didn’t know how it would go, or what she would say, but on her way to dinner she had worked it out.

“No reason really. Except that you are a genius.” Ron said staring at Hermione incredulously, still at a total loss to what she would need with help with, let alone what she would come to him for help with.

“Will you help?” Hermione asked as she hesitated, she stood a few metres from him and was watching him, as she bit down on her lip, trying not to worry about how the next few seconds might unfold.

“Of course. What do you need?” Ron answered as he shut his book and placed in on the desk in front of him. With a flick of his wand he stacked his books and his parchment and sent them off up the staircase and to his bed, and then with a second flick he sent his discarded parchment into the bin.

Hermione shortened the space between them as she walked towards him, she was only a few steps away she could almost reach out and touch him. Stopping in front of him, she wrapped her fingers round the end of his wand and pulled it out of his hand before placing it on the table. He looked at her questionably but she didn’t say a word, instead she took another step towards him and placed one knee either side of him on the couch and lowered herself down onto him, straddling him.

“Where would you place your hands if we were kissing?” Hermione whispered as her lips hovered above Ron’s. Ron couldn’t say anything, all words vanished from his mind and his stared at Hermione, so he just shook his head. This couldn’t be happening he told himself, but it felt real, oh god it felt real. He wanted to place his hands on her thighs, but it was Hermione, she didn’t, she couldn’t feel that way about him.

“Do you mind?” Hermione asked as she placed her palms against Ron’s cheek and moved her whole body closer to his.

“Not at all.” Ron managed to get out. Those three syllables shocked him, he didn’t think they would sound coherent at all, not with Hermione sitting on his lap, her body about to be pressed up against his and her brown eyes staring into the depths of his blue ones.

A small smile flashed on her lips before she leant forward and placed her lips on his, at first it was soft, as if she was questioning what she was doing, unsure if he would kiss back. She pulled her lips away so that they were no longer touching, but Ron shifted his head forward, and placed his lips on hers. This must be a dream he told himself, this couldn’t possibly be real. Then it occurred to him, if this was a dream then he might as well make the most of it.

It took her a moment to register but it wasn’t only his head that had moved, Ron’s hands were now resting on her thighs, slowly sliding themselves over the fabric of her skirt, up to her hips. As she ran her tongue along his lip, pushing it between his lips as she gained access, she noticed that her palms no longer rested on Ron’s face. She was running her fingers through his hair as she pushed her body against Ron’s, his hands slipping beneath her blouse as they rested on her hips, drawing her body to his. Their kisses turned hungry as Hermione pushed Ron back so that he was now leaning against the back on the couch, and she was half lying on top of him.

As the clock chimed behind them, Hermione and Ron’s lips separated as they looked into each other’s eyes, Ron realising that this wasn’t a dream.

“That was very useful.” Hermione whispered breathlessly as her lips hovered above Ron’s.

“What subject was it for again?” Ron asked as he watched Hermione, she had never been this close to him, she was beautiful as always but she looked different somehow.

“Muggle Studies.” Hermione replied with a smile. Dropping her hands to her sides she slowly stood up and took a step away from Ron, feeling flustered but not letting it show. Picking up his wand off the table, she handed it back to Ron and then turned away, walking as slowly as her legs would let her, she hurried towards the stairs, after that she seriously needed a shower.

Ron watched Hermione disappear around the bend in the staircase before he quickly rose from his chair and ran towards the stairs, taking them two at a time. Grabbing a towel off the end of his bed he hurried off to the showers, glad that everybody was out at dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This obviously did not happen at Hogwarts, but a girl can dream can't see....


	17. After Hours

The clock struck midnight as Ron made his way from his office to Hermione’s. His legs felt like lead, his side sit hurt where that bookshelf had landed on him and left him with a broken rib that was now healed, but the bruise was still growing. Simmons and Franklin were still in St Mungo’s from the days’ mission, which meant that Ron was on call tonight. All he wanted to do was to see his wife, have a shower and go to bed, but odds on that would not be the case tonight.

Checking his clothes one last time he made sure that all the blood had been washed out and the tears had been repaired, he hated to worry Hermione, he knew she would anyway but it was better that she didn’t know about all of his injuries. Pleased with his work he stepped out of the lift and headed down the hallway, down the familiar path that he had been down so frequently he could do it with his eyes closed.

“Hey you ready to go?” Ron said as he popped his head around her office door and spotted Hermione sitting at her desk scanning a piece of parchment, her bag and coat hanging up on the hook just beside the door.

“Almost.” Hermione replied, looking up at Ron as he walked across the room weaving in between piles of parchment and desks towards her. Reaching her desk he leant over and kissed her softly, letting the heat spread through Hermione’s body. She didn’t mind working late especially since Ron worked late too, so when he was at the office they could go home together.

“Need a hand with anything?” Ron asked as he leant over and picked up a quill that had rolled off the desk, unbeknownst to Hermione.

“Can you carry that box?” Hermione replied pointing at the deep green box in the corner of the room, a layer of dust covered the sides, it obviously wasn’t used often and judging by its size it wasn’t hard to see why.

“Protected against magic?” Ron asked as he dropped his bag on one of Hermione’s chairs and took a step towards it. Turning to face her, he smiled before adding, “Too heavy for you?”

“No, I just like to see you in action.” Hermione replied smirking at him. She had to get two of them to lift it onto a trolley before bringing it up to her office, and for some idiotic reason three of them had heaved it off the trolley once it had arrived and taken the trolley back downstairs.

“Where do you want it?” Ron asked as he groaned slightly as he lifted it up and steadied himself before taking a slow step towards the door.

“Follow me.” Hermione replied quickly getting out of her seat and rushing past Ron, leading him out of the door, knowing how heavy the box was she moved to take his mind of it. “Georgia asked about you today.” Hermione said as she made her way between the clutter of desks and bookshelves and parchment taking the shortest and clearest path possible.

“Which one is she, the blondish one or the really blonde one?” Ron asked breathlessly as he followed Hermione with caution, trying not to knock into any desk corners of random boxes scattered around.

“The blondish one.” Hermione answered as she moved a box out of Ron’s way and dropping a folder on David’s desk as she passed it.

“Been here for a week and a half? The one with the paperclips?” Ron asked as he repositioned the box in his arms. It was a lot heavier than it looked and he was already exhausted.

“Yeah her.” Hermione replied as she turned to face Ron and smiled at him. At lunch yesterday a bunch of her workmates were complaining how their boyfriends and husbands barely listened to them, let alone remembered what they had said a few days later. But that was not the case with her and Ron. 

“What did she say?” Ron asked, as he stood patiently waiting for Hermione to start walking again. Realising Ron was still holding the box she hastily turned around and headed towards the conference room.

“She saw you leaving my office after lunch, and asked if you were seeing anyone.” Hermione replied, grinning at the memory.  Georgia had come in to give her a pile of parchment to read over and wasn’t able to contain curiosity.

“Uh-huh.” Ron said, waiting for the rest of the story. He could see the conference room, he would be able to put this heavy box down soon.

“I said you were, and she asked how serious it was.” Hermione continued, as she pulled out her wand and unlocked the conference door as they approached it. Pushing it open, Hermione held the door for Ron.

“I’d say pretty serious.” Ron grinned as he stepped into the room and walked past Hermione.

“She looked pretty disappointed at, just here, that, and said if I wasn’t married I would be interested in you too.” Hermione went on, pointing to where she wanted the box and smiled as Ron sighed in relief as he placed the box on the floor and stretched his back.

“She just kept digging herself into a hole didn’t she.” Ron said grinning over at Hermione as he finished stretching and walked back around the table towards her.

“I told her that, considering I’m married to him, I would say I’m pretty interested. I have never seen anyone turn that red in my life.” Hermione said smiling as she sifted through the pile of parchment as Ron leant against the table beside her.

“Nothing this interesting happens in my office!” Ron whined sarcastically and Hermione grinned and hit him lightly on the arm before putting down the parchments and starting on the pile of files which she was organising for the meeting tomorrow morning.

“She was mortified.” Hermione added, trying to keep a smile off her lips as she remembered the look on Georgia’s face when she discovered that the guy she wanted Hermione to set her up with was Hermione’s husband.

 “She said something else didn’t she?” Ron asked as a paper plane flew through the open door and landed in front of Ron, it was an inter-office memo and it seemed urgent.

“Actually yeah..” Hermione started before she looked up and noticed Ron’s smile turn into a frown as his eyes hurriedly scanned the paper, “What is it?” She asked, already knowing the answer, well at least part of it.

“I have to go.” Ron answered as he pulled a quill out of his pocket and scribbled down a reply before sending it off flying with a flick of his wand. “Tell me all about it later, I’ll see you at home.” Ron said hurriedly as he kissed Hermione on the cheek before taking a few long strides to the door.

“Will the sun be up?” Hermione muttered. She hated how Ron would get called away with a moment’s notice and be gone for hours, sometimes days and very rarely weeks at a time, and the worst part was that she had no idea how long it would be, or if he would even make it home alive.

“I’ll try to be fast.” Ron said as he stopped in front of the door and turned back to face Hermione. He paused for a moment and then walked back towards her. Cupping her cheeks with his hands he smiled at her before he leant forward and kissed her. They both knew that he had to go but that didn’t stop their kiss from deepening and Hermione’s tongue gaining entry into Ron’s mouth as her hands slid under every layer of clothing to rest on his lower back.

“I love you.” Hermione breathed as Ron’s lips hovered against hers, he knew he had to go and fast but he wanted to stay, he always missed her when he was gone.

“I love you too.” Ron whispered, he kissed her again, quickly this time and then took a step back and retreated towards the door, keeping both eyes on his beautiful wife as he left the room, smiling at her as she couldn’t help but smile back.

Hermione watched Ron until he disappeared from view, you couldn’t apparate around the building but after a few years of being an auror it didn’t matter he would just run everywhere. It meant that Hermione had less time to bid him goodbye as he ran past the windowed walls of the conference room and out of the department and down the hallway, it only took seconds.

Every cell in her body hoped that he would only take a few hours, that by the time Hermione had taken a bath and had finished her book, the fire would turn green and he would be home.


	18. Conversation

Hermione no longer had to image what those words would sound like rolling off Ron’s tongue. He said them, to her, he had never said them to anyone else, but he had said them to her. Granted it wasn’t how she imagined it would be, as he didn’t say them the way she wanted to. But she had finally heard them all the same. She hated how she blushed when he said those words to her, she hated how happy they made her feel and she hated how he would never say them the way she wanted him to.

She knew that he didn’t mean them the way she wished he did. But in her mind she could push that away, she could ignore the facts and just pretend he did. She could pretend that he had confessed his love to her, after so many years of denying it, he had finally told her.

Nobody not even Lavender could take that from her. Next time she saw Lavender with her tongue downs Ron throat it wouldn’t hurt as much, she wouldn’t churn with jealousy, well as much as usual at least. When she lay awake at night pretending to sleep while she couldn’t help but hear Lavender going on and on about her boyfriend there was one thing that constantly came up that didn’t fail to make her smile. And tonight was no exception.

Lying as still as she could muster, her heart still erratically beating from his confession and her imagination, she closed her eyes but strained her ears. Hermione feigned sleep all through Lavender’s and Parvati’s constant gossiping and rumour swapping, and began to feel herself drift off when it came up.

She had been waiting to hear the two of them chatting ever since he had said those words to her. Ron had said that he loved her, something that she had wanted to hear for years, and finally in her sixth year he had told her, and he didn’t even mean it in the way that she wanted to him. She felt pathetic that she didn’t even care that he didn’t mean it the way she wanted him to, it was enough that he had said it. Silently sighing, she strained her ears to listen, she was looking forward to this conversation more than any other night, especially as she knew that Ron was trying to get rid of Lavender as well.

“Has he said it yet?” Parvati asked as she did almost every night. Every single time Lavender had answered no, and complained endlessly, and every single time she answered no, Hermione couldn’t help but smile. Lying in her bed tonight Hermione’s eyes fluttered open for a second, unseen by the others as her curtains were closed around her.

“No!” Lavender exclaimed, sounding most displeased. Hermione smiled as she heard exactly what she wanted to hear, what she had heard over a dozen times already.

“I just don’t get it.” Lavender said lowering her voice, as she whined. Hermione thankfully had her back to Lavender because her smile broadened, because she knew exactly why he hadn’t said it to Lavender. ‘ _Because he said it to me’_ a voice whispered in her head, she knew this was only partially accurate but she chose to ignore the rest of it, just focus on how those words sounded when he said them. They sounded just as she imagined they would.

“Maybe he’s just nervous.” Parvati offered lamely, they all knew that wasn’t the case. Hermione knew for sure that wasn’t the case, but the other two didn’t know for sure, and Lavender was desperately hoping that was the case.

“Maybe.” Lavender said, as usual. “Goodnight.” She added quietly after a moment of contemplation, just as she did every time that Parvati asked her. Lavender had told Ron that she loved him, and each time she kissed him before he could awkwardly change the subject or tell her that he didn’t love her.

The two girls climbed under the covers and closed their curtains, Lavender sighing as she went down, leaving Hermione happier than she been in ages. He may have not meant it in the way she wished, but he said it all the same, and now she knew just what those words sounded like, she no longer had to image it, she could just picture it in her head. Sure in her head the context was different as was the conversation to follow, and she felt a little bit more pathetic each time she imagined it but she didn’t feel pathetic enough to stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case this isn't clear this is based in Half Blood Prince, after Ron says he loves Hermione, and not in the way that Hermione wants, but he hasn't said it to Lavender, so that counts for something :)


	19. Silence

The house had been silent for weeks. The lights were barely used, not even when the Hermione moved from room to room late at night, she didn’t want to see the rooms, the walls, the carpet, their things. She couldn’t bear to see the apartment without Ron in it, she couldn’t walk from room to room and remember things they did or said, she just couldn’t.

She moved silently around the house, the only sounds coming from the kettle when it boiled, or the plumbing, or the fire crackling. Nothing else made a sound.

Others offered to come around, they sent letters, they knocked on the door, they tried to floo in but Hermione wouldn’t let them, she didn’t want to see them, she just couldn’t see them.

At first the waiting wasn’t so bad, she was used to the waiting, she knew that Ron could be over a week on some missions, so she continued on as normal. She wasn’t as happy as she was when Ron was home with her, but she flicked on the lights, danced to the radio and chatted to Ginny on the phone.

The third week she grew tiresome of being alone, she hated the cold quiet house. Usually by this stage Ron would have sent half a dozen letters, or even just a single sign to tell her that he was fine, that he missed her and their home. But she heard nothing from him, nothing at all and she grew to hate everything. She hated how there wasn’t a cup of tea given to her while she was pouring of parchment, she hated how she ate dinner alone. She hated how no one flicked soap suds at her while she dried the dishes, Ron always washed them, always, and now she had to do both, alone.

Then came the knock at the door.

She would have ignored it, like she did all the others, but this sounded different. It was a quick, solemn, commanding knock, not used by the likes of anyone she knew, it wouldn’t be a friend or a family member. The knock wasn’t the knock of a door to door salesman, or a child selling raffle tickets and chocolate, or some nutter asking Hermione to join some cult. No, this knock was the knock that she dreaded. The knock that she would have nightmares away whenever Ron was on a mission. The longer he was away, the more frequently she would dream of this knock, it would plague her sleep, but never in the daytime, never had she heard this knock, until four days ago.

Hermione was in the kitchen when she heard it, she heard it reverberate throughout the living room first, before spreading throughout the house, the terror in Hermione increasing with every millisecond. If Ron was upstairs asleep in bed, beside her in the kitchen or out at the shops she wouldn’t worry, but Ron had been gone for almost four weeks, and she hadn’t heard a peep from him since he lift. The glass slipped from her hand, smashing on the kitchen floor, as shards of glass scattered about her feet, and water sloshed over the tiles. Hermione was getting ready for work when the knock came, it was 8:17 am on a Tuesday morning, and even lying still on her bed on Saturday morning, she could remember everything.

Hermione remembered what the house smelt like, how she was slightly chilly and still had the taste of jam toast in her mouth. She remembered how her feet felt in her slippers, heavy and mournful as she scurried towards the door, torn between collapsing on the floor beside the broken glass in silence and running to the front door, flinging it open and screaming at the top of her lungs. She remembered the crumpled look on the man’s face as he stood on the door step. She remembered the way he wrung his hands as he spoke, how the hopeful look he held in his eyes, the small dash of hope, disappeared with a single head shake from Hermione.

“Miss Granger...” The man had started. At this point Hermione had wanted to bring her hands up to cover her mouth but she couldn’t make her arms move, she was frozen. The look on her face told him to skip the pleasantries, she had to know everything, and soon, she wouldn’t be able to wait.

“Have you heard from Ro, uh, Mr Weasley in the last..” The man had started, again he stopped as Hermione gave a small shake of her head. The small shake was all the movement she could muster, and that small movement sapped the hope out of the man standing in front of her.

The rest of what the man had said to her didn’t seem to be absorbed, she couldn’t take any of it in, the only words that she remembered four days later as she lay on the couch, her half open eyes staring at the lit fire, praying that it would turn green, were, ‘taken’, ‘badly injured’, ‘tortured’ and ‘possibly dead’. It didn’t help that all she could think about was those four things, all day and all night, the mere thought of it tortured her.

They had no idea where Ron or the other man he was with were, they hadn’t heard from them in over 9 days, that was four days ago, now it was over 13 days. He could be dead, they could be dead, or they could be dying and there was nothing that Hermione could do. All those spells in her head, and there was nothing that she could do, absolutely nothing.

In front of Hermione, the fire flickered green.

Closing her eyes, Hermione took a deep breath. Breathing out she opened her eyes.

The flames were green now, someone was coming.

“Hermione?” Harry’s voice rang out from the fire. With a flick of her wand, Hermione put out the fire, she didn’t want to speak to him right now, not today, not now.

Closing her eyes again, Hermione rolled over, her back now turned to the fire place as she cleared her mind and focussed on the sounds of the street outside. She listened to the sounds of the birds chirping, to the distance chattering of people who passed by the gate, to the cars on the street outside and the footsteps.

The footsteps were getting louder. Hermione’s eyelids flew open as she raised herself up, and peered over the edge of the couch, the footsteps were definitely coming towards the house. They sounded heavy and strained. Hermione groaned, it would be Ginny bringing the box that she had promised to bring round a few weeks ago.

As Hermione lowered herself, the door flung open in front of her, revealing a sight that made Hermione gasp. The door slammed shut again and Hermione’s body wasn’t frozen, not like it had been when the man came to the door. Her head was whirring as she lit the fire with a flick of her wand, and although torn between running to the fire and to the two figures slumped against the front door, she didn’t hesitate before sticking her head in the fire.

“Ron.” Hermione breathed, giving the first genuine smile in the last week and a half. He may have been covered in mud, layered in blood, with dirty torn clothes, rips in his skin and matted hair, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was him, although she wasn’t sure whether it was Seth or Chris with him, it could easily be either one. She hadn’t heard the man when he told her about the other missing Auror.

As Hermione spoke to the Ministry of Magic, Ron continued muttering as he waved his wand over Seth’s leg. He was thinking the spells in his head but he was muttering to Seth, muttering like he had been for the past two days, it was oddly the only thing that kept him sane in that dank dreary place, that and the thought of going home, to Hermione. He was in agony, his body was bruised, cut and bleeding all over. Seth was dead, completely, utterly and undisputedly dead. But he couldn’t leave Seth alone, he couldn’t leave him to rot down there, his family would want a body to bury, he couldn’t leave Seth there, that was never an option.

“St Mungos are expecting us, they will take care of you and..” Hermione started, as she emerged from the flames and stood up, turning to face Ron as she did so.

“Seth’s dead Hermione.” Ron said, cutting Hermione off, his voice not sounding like his voice. It didn’t sound like him, his voice sounded hoarse, it sounded broken, she didn’t want to imagine what had made his voice like that, but over the past four days, as her imagination tortured her, she had probably already imagined a hell similar to the one Ron had experienced.

“There’s a dead body in my living room, brilliant.” Hermione muttered to herself, causing Ron to smile. She could only make out a flash of white teeth caked in blood between his chapped, bleeding lips, but she saw his bright blue eyes light up for only a moment, and that was what almost brought her to her knees. Seeing his smile, his eyes, she couldn’t focus on that, not now, she had to push the feeling to cry, to fall into his arms, to slap him for putting her through all this, she had to push all that aside.

“I’m so sorry.” Ron replied, as he stood up slowly, wrapping his arms around Seth as he did so and pulling him up with him. Hermione moved to help him but Ron shook his head, if Hermione came too close she would be able to make out his injuries, and he could see but the look on her face and in her eyes, that her imagination was overactive as usual, and he didn’t want to make her worry any more than she was already.

Hermione opened her mouth to say something more but Ron gave a quick flick of his wand and gently pushed her into the fire, and the flames flashed green around her, before she stepped out into one of the wards in St Mungo’s, where four healers were waiting with two stretches.

“He’s dead.” Ron’s voice came from behind Hermione, as two of the healers rushed towards the fire that Hermione had just vacated. With a few flicks of wands, Seth was on the stretcher and hurried out of the room, as the two healers that had rushed forwards now had both hands on Ron as his body collapsed beneath him.

“Ron!” Hermione shrieked as he dropped like a stone, the only thing supporting him were the two healers by his sides. Pulling him towards the stretcher, she could make out a deep gash down his leg, and blood rushed onto the floor beneath him, while blood trickled down his neck.

“Baby!” Hermione screamed as she noticed the deep laceration on the back of his head, his red hair caked in dried blood, while fresh blood continued to leak from the wound. Rushing towards him as the healers placed him down on the stretcher she couldn’t fail to notice the looks on the pale faces as they rushed him out of the room, shutting the door behind them, leaving Hermione alone in the room.

Finally allowing herself to completely succumb to her emotions, she too dropped to the ground, as tears streamed down her face and her harsh choked sobs filled the empty space around her. Behind her Ginny and Harry stepped out of the fire. With a flick of her wand Ginny tried to open the door, but the healers had put a temporary unbreakable lock, his family wouldn’t want to see the next few minutes, and they couldn’t be interrupted. It was best for everyone if Hermione was on the side of the door that she sat in a crumpled heap on the floor in. Barely noticing the arm that wrapped around her, Hermione collapsed into Harry’s chest, her choked sobbing didn’t allow her to say a single word, and Harry and Ginny looked at one another, trying to ascertain whether Ron was still breathing, whether his heart was still beating and his blood was still flowing through him.

At the moment, even Hermione couldn’t know.

That was all up to the healers.

Was he... dead or alive?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unlike the other one shots in this fic, this one is not a standalone, but is a continuation, and can be found in a four part one shot, named 'Dead or Alive?'


End file.
